Food Education in N’ganon Village Canteen (Ivory Coast)

In northern Ivory Coast, 200 women in the village of N’ganon have formed a farming cooperative with the particular aim of providing quality, local food for school meals.

Developed by Slow Food Chitaga convivium, the project has also assisted the cooperative to organize educational activities: excursions for the children to their 7 hectares of vegetable, rice and bean fields; adult literacy activities on the concept of good, clean and fair food; and training seminars on organic food production.

The project has had a deep impact on the village, increasing the women’s income and the health of the community, and is attracting much interest from the surrounding area. The next phase is to establish similar projects in nearby villages and to increase the educational activities for children.

20,500 euro have been spent on the N’ganon project so far, according to the following breakdown:

• 2,000 for cultivation of rice and other staple crops (seeds, materials, organic pesticides etc.)
• 2,200 for fruit and vegetable cultivation;
• 11,500 for agricultural and processing equipment;
• 4,800 for project management;